“For too many years, our health care facilities have, at best, been taken for granted, and, at worst, been neglected or impeded by the state and federal government. For too many years, our facilities have been treated as a cost savings scapegoat—a line item on a budget. Year after year, we have had to cope with low payments from private health insurance companies and outdated reimbursement rates from government health insurance programs, all while our costs have skyrocketed.

“Year after year, we have been besieged by new taxes and huge funding cuts, imposed randomly, as if not paying a fair rate for the services we provide or taxing the vestiges of our revenue would somehow spontaneously create a solution.  It hasn’t, because hospitals and nursing homes are not the problem.

“Over the years we’ve posed tough questions and proposed solutions. We’ve made concessions and drew lines in the sand. We’ve cooperated whenever possible and fought when necessary.  But today, fighting is the only logical reaction to this continued assault. We’re going to fight for our nurses, home health aides, and lab techs, and most of all, for our patients.

“Today, New York’s hospitals, nursing homes and other health care providers are standing together and making our message clear:  Enough is enough!  No more health care cuts!”

The effects of New York’s health care policies:

Hospitals statewide lost $127 million in 2004, which increased cumulative losses to $2.3 billion since 1998.

This $127 million loss represents an operating margin of minus 0.3%, compared to a positive margin of more than 3% in the rest of the nation.  Meanwhile, in 2004, New York health maintenance organization (HMO) profits totaled $847 million, bringing their total profits to $3.7 billion for the past six years.

HANYS, the only statewide health care association in New York State, represents more than 550 non-profit and public hospitals, nursing homes, home care agencies, and other health care organizations.